ANY woman who has been pregnant during a heatwave will share the
Duchess of Cambridge's relief at the safe delivery of her son on
Monday afternoon. The caveat, of course, is that the child will
never again be as safe as he was in utero. The safety of
the Prince is a concern not just of his parents but of a nation.
Many will envy his privileges, and his family's wealth will protect
him from the worst dangers that face other infants born on the same
day across the world in poverty and insecurity. But every human
child is subject to the same dangers of accident or ill-health, and
to these are added the threats that mean that he will almost
certainly need to be accompanied by security personnel for the
whole of his life.
Beyond the threats, there is the question of happiness. Those
who fantasise about changing places with him might wish to ask
themselves which freedoms they would be willing to give up to do
so. The new Prince will be unable to explore the world around him,
and his own place in it, without the dead hand of 24-hour
international attention. This will range from sentimental
attraction, some of it bordering on the deranged, to simple
prurience. He will grow up in a family whose members all have to
cope with this level of interest in their own way, and some have
coped better than others. The discretion of friends and the
restraint of many in the media (not merely the result of coercion)
enabled Prince William and Prince Harry to grow up in a relatively
normal - if not typical - manner. The explosion of internet media
outlets means that such deals are now no longer effective.
Paradoxically, the safest place away from this attention might well
be the military, where loyalty to the Crown can be enforced by
discipline.
Looking further ahead, he will be groomed for the throne, but,
like his grandfather, might wait most of his life before being
given the opportunity to shoulder the burden. He will be expected
to devote much of his time to public works. Although these are a
privilege, having the freedom to choose to do them is a greater
privilege. Every friendship and every romantic contact will be
scrutinised, since he has inherited the responsibility for future
generations of monarchs.
Two things will transform such a future from being purely
burdensome: a life of luxury and a life of faith. The Prince will
find it easy to surround himself with objects and people who
furnish his immediate wants. But if he wishes to emulate his
great-grandmother, and secure the future of the monarchy, he needs
to find a greater source of both comfort and challenge. Amid all
that he inherits - the palaces, the bloodstock, the organic
biscuits - the supreme governorship of the Church of England might,
after his baptism, be the best gift that he receives.